High Nitrates (80mg/l)

[adam_jones]

I recently smashed my tank and changed to a 36, 12, 15 inch tank. Luckily no fish were hurt. I had no choice but to get a new tank and fill with tap water, with added de-chlorinator. Because I used tap water my Nitrae levels are around 90mg/l, I need to get my Nitrates below 20 mg/l, what is the best product to use and how long will it take? Are there any tips.

 

[The_Gilly]

i know in the uk you can buy a nitrate (or nitrite i can never remember!) absorbing tea bag type thing that you pop in the tank.

Have you got any filter media from an established tank you can use?

 

[adam_jones]

Just some Carbon, What would you reccomend?

 

[The_Gilly]

well really what you want is abit of filter media from a friends tank or your local LFS. This will have the good bacteria you need. Good bacteria desolves (eats!) the nitrate (or the other one Nitrite).

By either using this in your filter or floating it in your tank you'll find the good bacteria will move to elements of your tank for example your filter media and your gravel.

Hope that helps alittle.

It's unlikely your carbon will have any good bacteria on it as it's been out of water for some time........

 

[CFC]

Wow 90ppm from the tap is bad, have you contacted your water supplier about the alarming ammount of nitrate present? EU guidelines for safe nitrates in tapwater are 50ppm as far as i remember.

If my nitrates were that high from the tap i would be seriously considering installing a small R/O unit to pre filter the water for my tank and water changes, it will certainly work out cheaper than using nitrate adsorbing medias which have a tank life of roughly 4 to 6 weeks usually.

If a R/O unit is not a option then there are 3 medias available on the market which i have used to some success in the past.
The first is one called nitrazorb and is made by aquarium pharmacueticals, it is spent very quickly but can be recharged in a salt solution a few times before it is completely dead.
The second is called clearwater and is highly effective for around 6 weeks but is not rechargeable, this one also removes ammonia and phosphates from the water.
The third is Kent nitrate sponge granules whch i still use and is a extreemly effective nitrate removal media but is quite expensive and not rechargeable, it usually lasts about 3 months before it needs replacing.

BTW are we definately talking about nitrates and not nitrites? There should never even be trace ammounts of nitrite present in tapwater and if yours does have nitrite present i would advise not drinking it and contacting the water board ASAP.

 

[gaya]

If you don't already have them live plants should help a bit as well. I had an RO and it did the trick but what a pain in the but. I also found that my nitrates fluctuated with the seasons. during the warmer months they are high and the winter months they are low.

 

[CFC]

I too have noticed seasonal fluctations in nitrate levels and in summer the nitrates from my London tapwater have gone as high as 80ppm during the hottest weeks. However it is the middle of winter here now so with farming and water use at its lowest the nitrate levels should also be lower than usual.

Plants can work as effective nitrate removal but usually require the right lighting and the addition of CO2 to be of any use.